


two of swords

by chanshine



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Angst, Beaches, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Conflict, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gentle Kissing, Internal Conflict, Interspecies, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Kissing, Light Angst, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Princes & Princesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26478724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanshine/pseuds/chanshine
Summary: kunhang sits on the throne surrounded by countless riches most could only long for, yet he still dreams of crashing waves, red hair and aquamarine scales.
Relationships: Liu Yang Yang/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery
Comments: 7
Kudos: 39





	two of swords

**Author's Note:**

> the little mermaid, but make it philosophical

the sand crunches softly under the heel of kunhang’s boots as he walks further out on the beach, leaving imprints as the only evidence of him being right here right now. the night is mostly quiet, only the sound of distant crickets chirping and gentle waves crashing filling the comfortable silence. it’s calming, finally being away from his overbearing parents and the bustling city. this is where he’s truly at peace, where he doesn’t have to think about any pressing matters. out here he isn’t the heir to the throne, he’s just someone who loves the seas. that isn’t the only reason he’s here though, if he simply wanted a stroll by the shoreline he could easily get permission to do so in the daylight. as if on cue, soon enough he spots a familiar figure in the distance and rushes towards it.

yangyang looks positively ethereal basked in the same moonlight making the surface of the water glitter, sitting on the shore with the tide barely licking the edges of the translucent fins at the end of his scaly aquamarine fish tail. his scarlet hair is still slightly wet and messy, droplets running down his neck and bare torso. he turns around to see kunhang approaching; recognition flashes in his eyes and he waves him over enthusiastically, and who is kunhang to say no to that?

“you’re not supposed to be here. what’s a prince to do on the outskirts of his kingdom?” is the first thing yangyang says, the faux scolding accompanied by a charmingly playful smile. kunhang dearly missed this, missed their light hearted banter in the dead of night away from prying eyes and protective guards. not even a minute of them together and his entire day is already made.

“neither are you. pray tell, what’s a merman doing out of water?” he smiles back, stopping in his tracks to fully absorb the sight in front of him right now. his breath catches in his throat even if it’s the nth time he’s seen the other like this; he can’t ever get enough of anything when it comes to yangyang, whether it be their bickering, their long talks, or their comfortable silence. 

“waiting for _his_ prince to finally settle down next to him, perhaps.” kunhang’s heart soars in his chest at this exchange and he happily obliges, sitting down so that they’re leaning on each other’s backs with yangyang facing the boundless horizon and kunhang the distant city. there’s a visibly stark contrast, with yangyang a vibrantly colored regal sea creature and kunhang dressed down in casual peasant human attire; the only thing linking their vastly different worlds being their intertwined fingers. still, though their worlds may be different, their sentiments are not.

“am i selfish?” yangyang’s voice is uncharacteristically quiet. if not for the way they were pressed against each other so close that they could feel the vibrations of the other’s vocal cords when they spoke, kunhang wouldn’t have known he talked in the first place.

“what for?” he asks, despite already knowing what yangyang’s about to answer to that.

“this. feeling like this.” it’s so vague, and yet his tone speaks volumes where words are left unsaid.

“i don’t think so.” he gives a noncommittal hum. they’ve talked about this a hundred times by this point, whether to pass time or to truly reflect on themselves.

“i have so much other people would do anything to get their hands on. yet all i am is ungrateful.” yangyang mumbles, clenching a fistful of sand in his free hand. kunhang thinks of his own grand palace a quarter as big as the capital surrounding it, of his bedroom the size of a peasant family’s entire living quarters, of his gardens the size of a small forest. the countless portraits framed in gold that line the walls of elegantly decorated and carpeted hallways are left only to his peripheral vision. his riches are as plentiful as the land encapsulated in his domain, and yet he only finds value in the hidden wonders of the sea; he only finds beauty in yangyang’s everything.

“if it’s a sin to have our hearts elsewhere, then you know fully well you and i would be rotting in the fiery depths of hell by now.” they manage to chuckle, despite the rather solemn atmosphere. conversation is so easy like this, surrounded by everything that keeps them at calm.

“i will always want what you have.” yangyang starts again after a brief moment of silence, subconsciously tracing meaningless patterns on the sand with his free hand. they form vague silhouettes of seashells and corals, sights that he sees so much they’re practically ingrained in the back of his eyelids. “your land, your people, and everything in the world beyond the sea.”

“and i, you. but something tells me that even then, we won’t be fully happy.” kunhang responds as finds himself mesmerized by even the small traces of underwater beauty immortalized in the form of careless doodles. it’s so bittersweet and telling how he’s so awed by something yangyang doesn’t even give a second thought to.

“we won’t ever be satiated, will we?” yangyang sighs in resignation and throws his head back to rest it against kunhang’s shoulder, the damp hair tickling his neck.

“we only seek the unknown because we’re used to the grandeur. even if we were to trade places, we would get tired eventually.” it’s blatantly evidenced by the way they see nothing in the assets that have surrounded them their entire lives, by the way they find nothing special in everyday life. elegance is only enchanting when experienced sparingly.

“it seems silly that i’d get tired of the land and you the sea, but it’s entirely plausible isn’t it?”

“with the way we indulge ourselves in each respectively, we’d run out of new things to be enamoured with sooner rather than later. it’s inevitable if you think about it.” kunhang smiles once again, squeezing yangyang’s hand just a tad tighter. “just like us falling for each other.” a gleeful laugh rings clear as he gets shoved playfully in retaliation.

“you’re absolutely insufferable, you know that right?” yangyang rolls his eyes exasperatedly at the way kunhang simply nods with a shit eating grin. “yet i still love you.” he says with all the fondness in the world, sincerity shining in his eyes when kunhang turns to face him. declarations like these… they come out of nowhere and tug at kunhang’s heartstrings persistently. they make him want to shower yangyang with all the admiration he harbors. and so he does.

“and i, you. worlds more than i love the sea.” he relishes in yangyang’s surprised squeak as he pulls him close to him. his heart is so full, he can’t tell if the warmth blooming in his chest is from being in love or from the way the other’s back presses against it. _god,_ he really has it bad for him.

“do you love the land?” yangyang looks up at him with wide and curious eyes while he fiddles with kunhang’s fingers sitting in his lap.

“i do. yet not as much as you do, and not as much as i love the sea. how much do you love the land?” kunhang interlaces their fingers together once again, it just feels right after all. they aren’t exactly modest about casual affection with each other.

“plenty, yet not enough to sacrifice anything substantial.” they don’t have a lot of room for error, not with the mold they’re expected to fill in their respective societies. being royalty is hard work, whether merman or human. it feels more a curse than a privilege at this point; they don’t exactly have a choice in the matter. with how there’s so much burden put on them, kunhang doesn’t expect yangyang to be willing to do more than what they already are.

“neither would i. i’m not such an ardent being that i want to rebel, but i’m not obedient enough to just accept it either.” it’s half true. kunhang wouldn’t overstep a line for love, but for yangyang he might. there’s just so much he’s scared of, so much he’s still not ready to face. he wants to, but at the same time he’s hesitant.

“it makes you wonder if our love is cheapened because we wouldn’t risk anything for it.” yangyang’s tone is suddenly serious and kunhang freezes briefly at this. this is something that has been brought up countless times, yet it still gets him thinking. what if they did find it in them to do something about it? what would they do? what would they give for what they love? would it be worth it? would they be happy? a million favorable scenarios are possible, yet there’s equally as many unpleasant ones as well.

“that would be foolish thinking. we simply have too much to lose.” is what he ends up saying in the end. their kingdoms, their families, people’s faith in them… it’s not so easy to just leave all those behind. if they did anything about it, they’d have to pay the consequences of escapism sooner or later. they both already know this, it’s just the harsh truth after all. they can never truly be with each other the way they want to, _hell_ , they don’t even know if they’re gonna stay together for as long as they wish. but, for now, they’ll take what they can get. they’ll cherish the time fate allows them have, and make as many fond memories as they can. and so with that in mind they slip into another comfortable silence, with yangyang humming a simple melody as kunhang traces nothings into his palms while they both look for patterns and constellations.

“it’s starting to wane.” kunhang observes the bright moon breathlessly before averting his gaze from the starry skies to the precious being in his hold. his arms tighten around yangyang’s waist as he buries his face deeper into the crook of his neck, trailing butterfly kisses and nearly imperceptible love bites on the damp skin. yangyang’s doodles were being washed away by the rising tide, and the only remaining evidence to their meeting are marks that fade over time and damp clothes that dry out in the daylight.

“i’ll see you when the moon is full again.” yangyang whispers into the night, allowing himself to melt in the hug and hold kunhang’s dangling hands in his own. it hurts to only be able to embrace yangyang like this fleetingly for three midnights then going for tenfold as many without him, yet they can’t afford to see each other more frequently than that. they’re busy enough as it is, they can only make so little time for each other in the midst of all the preparations for their futures. they remain like that for a few more minutes, just to take everything in and burn it into their brains. everything is always so overwhelming when they’re about to part ways.

“carry me back.” yangyang mumbles after a bit and refuses to make eye contact, making kunhang raise an eyebrow.

“if you brought yourself here, surely you can bring yourself back.” he really can’t help the smirk that made its way to his lips; it just so happens that making yangyang flustered is a hobby of his.

“i crawled. it would be mortifying to do that in front of my prince.” even without meaning to, a whine slips into the sentence. kunhang can practically see the pout yangyang’s sporting right now despite him trying to hide his face.

“you crawled and for what? to sit under the stars like this and look pretty, just for me?” he shifts so that their faces are close, foreheads touching and yangyang’s shaky breaths tangible on his lips. the proximity is exhilarating, and he wants nothing more than to close the distance right now.

“silence yourself this instant.” there’s no real bite to yangyang’s threat threat, not when his cheeks are painted the same deep dark red as his hair, not when he audibly gulps when kunhang grasps his chin to force him to make eye contact. his hand moves to cup his cheek and caress the flushed skin while his other arm slips its way around yangyang’s waist once again to pull him even closer, their chests touching.

finally, their lips meet, both their eyelids fluttering shut at the feeling. it never gets old no matter how many times they do this, no matter how many times they kiss under the veil of midnight and cuddle on the empty beach. this moment right now means everything to kunhang; it’ll be the only thing he can think of until the next full moon, until they get to meet once again. in a sudden burst of bravery, he swipes his tongue along yangyang’s lips to elicit a muffled whine out of him and _oh_ the fact he can cause that kind of reaction makes him giddy. the burning feeling lingers even as they pull apart, and kunhang feels just about as dazed and messed up as yangyang looks right now. regardless he manages to smile and deliver the killing blow, like he would to a dummy during fencing classes.

“you look stunning wherever you are anyway, but i think you look best in my arms like this.” he chuckles at the second squeak yangyang makes that night, and decides to finally let him breathe for a second. he hooks one of his arms under yangyang’s tail and promptly does as told, heart squeezing at the way yangyang buries his face into his neck and holds on tight. when he’s finally in a comfortable depth of water once again, they just stare at each other with bated breaths.

they really don’t want to go just yet, it feels like time passes by far too quickly when they’re together… and yet yangyang manages to peck him shyly one last time, eyes shining with unshed tears. kunhang kisses them away before gently letting him go, whispering his promises to meet again. yangyang nods in understanding and returns the promise with a bright, hopeful smile before disappearing into the waves.

kunhang watches as the one he loves more than anything in the world swims away to where his heart lies. _oh_ , how he dearly he wishes to be able to follow suit, to let yangyang whisk him away to a whole new world that isn’t of humans and responsibilities. he wishes to go so badly and yet… he still turns to face the forest and the distant peaks of his grand abode in the distance. he still marches forward to fulfil his princely duties, leaving his sentiments behind to be carried away by the same ocean breeze making him feel even more cold and empty. they’ll always find their way back to each other anyway. they’ll always end up where the sea meets the land, where only peace and solitude resides. they’ll always end up in each other’s company by the beach, talking about everything and nothing in particular to let the time pass by.

maybe one day they’ll be able to stay there forever.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed it!! i watched a male cover of part of your world, and it got me thinking. it was fun to speculate about the possible conflicts in the little mermaid and lay it out here, of course i couldn't pass up hendery as prince eric and yangyang did have red hair once . i think this came out interesting at the very least, albeit rather bittersweet.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/SH10NSHINE)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/SH10NSHINE)


End file.
